Alice in Borderland ~ Chishiya

20

I didn't expect that we would make our way to the Beach so soon, but suddenly, Raiden and I find ourselves sitting in a car on the way to this utopia. Aki is obviously tired from the tension running through his body during the game, but that doesn't interest the boy behind the wheel. 'I'm curious what Hatter will do with those two,' the boy says with a grin. 'I just hope you are of some value to us.'

I keep looking out of the window. It feels childish to be excited about a car ride, but I can't remember the last time being in a moving car. It feels good to watch the sky and the bridge pass by. The boy's clearly unhappy with our silence. 'How boring you are.'

'We've just had a tough game of memory, Matsu,' Aki sighs, to which Matsu starts laughing. 'Mémory?!' he exclaims. 'Difficult?!' Aki looks at him sharply, but Matsu no longer looks in the rear-view mirror. 'It was a six of hearts.' He now looks up again for a moment. 'Nice,' he says, really impressed this time. I see his eyes glide over Raiden and me through the mirror. He says nothing more.

I think about what Aki said about wearing swimsuits. If everyone who belong so the Beach has to wear that, it would mean they could see a lot of me. I'm not insecure about my figure, but I don't like it when people can see bare parts of me. I try to push away the images that come to mind, but for a moment, it feels like I feel those dirty hands sliding over my body all over again. I shake the thought away.

Chishiya is wearing a vest. Surely, I can do that, too? If we'll be allowed in at all, that is. To be honest, I think it'll be okay. They might be so cruel as to take our cards and then throw us back out on the street, but we'll see.

'Wow,' Raiden blurts out incredulously. I tilt my head and see what he means. I can't help but say the same. The large resort is fully lit with light. How's that possible? And how come we never saw it? It's quite far from the city, but surely such a beam of light would stand out? We look around impressed when the car is parked and we've gotten out.

'I'll see you later,' Aki says when a group of guys with guns in their hands "greet" us. Yes, or will you see our dead bodies later? How do these guys get weapons? 'What are these people doing here? Who are they?' I try not looking for too long at the boy who spoke, but he stands out. His hair is black and he has two piercings near one eyebrow and one in his nose. 'New ones,' Matsu replies with a shrug. 'Aki seems to have picked them up from a game of six of hearts.'

Immediately, we're looked at a bit more closely by the group of boys. 'Six of hearts,' the black haired, pierced boy repeats. 'That's not nothing.' I'm not sure he's joking with us, but I decide it's wiser not to respond. Raiden understands that, too. 'Come along to the reception hall,' the boy continues, 'then we'll see what kind of addition you can be here.'

What a warm welcome. Couldn't Chishiya have just said that we would be greeted here with guns pointed at us? It should be a utopia, right? Then how come a select group has weapon and the others don't? As we pass through the corridors, I see some people with wristbands. I try not to stare too much. I don't recognize anyone. 'They all do it, don't they,' another boy says, with a grin. 'They look around as if they have never seen electricity.' I would do best not to reply, but I would've loved to make a cynical comment back.

We finally get into a room, where we're put on a chair next to each other. The boy who just spoke and the boy with piercings remain in the room, as do a handful of other people. We have to wait for a bit, before the door opens and a man wearing sunglasses, a red leopard print swimsuit and a colourful, thin kimono enters the room.

'Welcome to the Beach! The utopia!'

I try not to stare at him too much, but I think he looks a bit ridiculous. 'I understand you want to join the Beach.' Raiden and I just nod instead of saying anything. 'Why?' Kimono wants to know. 'We're looking for answers,' Raiden replies. 'Answers!' Kimono repeats. 'Yes, you'll find them here!' He snaps his fingers. A few people walk up to the wall and start shuffling it. The wall changes to a painting of all poker cards. Many cards have been crossed upon, but other cards are still intact.